Pairing front squats with C&J instead of back squats.
Hey weightlifters. I (6'1'', ~87.5kg, 19 yo) have been back squatting every workout for the last year and have made lots of exciting progress on my powerlifting and olympic numbers. Anyway, I train 3-4 days a week : 2 days with squats, bench, bent row, and snatch, and 2 days with squats, strict press, deadlift, and C&J (most 5x5 except for olympic work).
But recently, I read that pairing front squats with C&J and back squats with snatch is apparently something people do to develop their heavy clean catch.
My question is, will doing half my sessions with front squats and the other half with back squats be bad for my back squat? I've heard that back squat strength translates to front squat strength, and it doesn't work the other way around. My first front squat session went ok, and the bar felt heavy with only 110 kg, but I didn't feel like I squatted afterward. I'm definitely not as comfortable with front squats than I am with back, but I have not much trouble catching heavy cleans. Am I screwing my back squats? Should I just do back squats every session like normal?
TLDR: Should I pair front squats with C&J and back squats with snatch?
EDIT: I've been using the wrong terms. English is hard. I've been meaning back squats and front squats rather than high bar and low bar squats.
Posted Feb 21, 2016, 9:13 PM UTC · edited